Daily Bread, As Requested

The story is told of a rich businessman who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat.

“Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.

“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.

“Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?” the rich man asked.

“‘What would I do with them?”

“You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”

The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?”

“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the businessman.

“What do you think I’m doing now?” the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.

Maybe seeing our needs as the only thing necessary, is that which protects us from unnecessary stress.

Our Thought for Meditation is taken from Matthew 6:11. Jesus taught us to pray...

Matthew 6:11 ESV

11 Give us this day our daily bread,

In this fourth request of the Lord’s prayer, we present our needs to the Lord. This is only after we have revered God’s name; have requested His kingdom to be known, and that God’s desires be met on earth, as it is in heaven.

Bread, here, stands for our needs. Bread was a regular staple in the middle eastern diet. Bread was not only a mainstay, but also used as a tool, to enjoy sauces or meat.

Remember that Jesus fed the 5,000 and the 4,000 with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. In both cases, this was a modest and everyday lunch. The Lord is encouraging us to ask that our daily necessities be met.

John Charles Ryle (10 May 1816 – 10 June 1900) was a 19th century English evangelical Anglican bishop. He was the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool. He states:

“We are here taught to acknowledge our entire dependence on God for the supply of our daily necessities. As Israel required daily manna, so we require daily ‘bread.’ We confess that we are poor, weak, wanting creatures, and ask Him who is our Maker to take care of us.” (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 52).

If we’re not careful, we quickly present our needs and end the prayer, as if God only existed to satisfy our requests. Our reason for prayer is much bigger than that. In Biblical devotion, we worship God, seek His will and realize our place in His plan. God’s glory comes first, then we come second.

Someone once asked “how do you spell Joy?

Jesus first;

Others second;

Yourself last.

The Lord’s Prayer is a reminder that God provides for our daily needs- none too little and none too much.

Proverbs 30:8 ESV

8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,

An Old Testament case study in God’s provision is the story of Elijah.

God is sovereign over our needs and their supply.

Ahab was the king of the northern kingdom, also known as Israel, and and reigned 870-850 B.C..

Asa came before that and reigned from 911-870 B.C.. He was the king of the southern kingdom, also known as Judah.

Asa was a good king and followed the Lord all the days of his life, instituting reforms and leading the people of the southern kingdom back to God.

In contrast, Ahab was an evil king. In fact, we are told in 1 Kings 16:30-34, that he married a foreign wife, who we know as Jezebel. She goes down in history as the prototype of a wicked woman.

Ahab was evil enough that he sacrificed two of his sons. He worshipped Baal and built a temple to him. Verse 33 says it all.

1 Kings 16:33 ESV

33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

Ahab’s legacy was awful, and a stain on Israel’s history.

“Baal was the Canaanite god of fertility and therefore among the most tempting idols for agrarian Israelites to venerate.” (Systematic Theology Study Bible, 405)

As judgment for Ahab’s idolatry and waywardness, God would bring about a period of intense dryness to Israel.

By declaring a year long drought, God proved that He is more powerful than Baal and that the people of Israel should take notice.

In 1 Kings 17, God has instructed Elijah to tell the evil King Ahab, that there will be a drought; there will be neither dew nor rain for a year. This would greatly effect the water supply and the food production.

It was in this backdrop that...

God provided for his own.

God told Elijah to go to Cherith, where there was a water source. While there, Elijah’s needs would be met. He would be protected and fed. The ravens would give him bread and meat, while the brook of Cherith would provide plenty of water.

1 Kings 17:6 ESV

6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Note that the Lord provided for the prophet, without him asking. This shows us the Father’s love. God used creation to give Elijah his daily bread. The prophet did not have to ask. And God provides for your needs, often without your asking. He knows your needs and He lovingly provides.

Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century English preacher said:

The ravens owe their own meat day by day to God’s providing, and yet he employs them for the supply of his servant. So poor saints, deeply dependent on God for their humblest needs, he enables to help saints yet poorer still. His prophet shall be sustained by ravens, who, perhaps, have little ones that cry for their food. The Lord will provide. We know not how, but he has his own ways and methods.—57.401

Our needs are simple.

My dad had an uncle named Logan. In 1952, after my dad had joined the Navy, he was home on leave. Uncle Logan would walk into town every day to do his business, three mile trip one way. He would always come by my grandfather’s barber shop, which was attached to my grandparents’ home.

While there, Uncle Logan told my dad: “John, come visit me. You’ll have plenty to eat and you’ll keep warm.” That was significant because those were the two most important physical needs in rural Southwest Missouri at that time. It was an expression of hospitality.

Daily bread can qualify as anything.

Do you need a job? Ask God for it.

Do you need an automobile? Petition the Lord for it.

Do you need a spouse? Inquire of His plan.

Do you need that relationship with the family member or friend healed? Then lay it before the cross.

Ian Campbell states:

“By asking God for ‘our daily bread’, we acknowledge that all our material possessions are his to give and his to withhold.”

Iain D. Campbell

But let us not forget the bread that God has already provided in His word, the Bible. Someone once said:

“The Bible should be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions of need.”

Anonymous

I remember as a student right out of seminary, I was working a job during the night shift, while applying to as many churches as possible.

I would pray and send what seemed like a hundred resumes, but all I’d hear back was “thanks but no thanks,” or complete silence from churches with pastoral openings.

It became frustrating and discouraging that no one wanted to call me to be their pastor. I applied to churches in several states and heard nothing.

That is, until I received a letter from a small church in east central Kansas, just a short drive from both of our families.

We enjoyed six wonderful years there and learned many lessons from God’s gracious hand. That position was an answer to prayer.

Author James Banks writes:

“Prayer about everyday needs help us maintain perspective. They are not only about things necessary for life on earth- they’re also about our deepest need: a growing relationship with our Father in heaven. Jesus makes this priority for our living and asking very clear: ‘Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.’” (James Banks, Let’s Pray, 19).

Personally, I think there are two mistakes that are quite common among believers as they pray for their daily needs. One, we mistake needs and wants. Two, we worry about our needs to the extent that they distract us from working towards our top priorities which are...

Loving God;

Loving/Serving Others

and Making Disciples.

Jesus already promised that if we are seeking His kingdom and righteousness first, everything else would be taken care of.

And let us not forget that the God we serve has a will and a plan that matches His provision. He reserves the right to say

“No,”

“Not yet,”

“Yes,”

Or, “I thought you’d never ask.”

Conclusion

When his people come together, we see God’s grace in a powerful way. Not that we twist his arm. But when we get serious, He gets serious. When we get intentional, He gets intentional.

While serving that small church in Kansas, I grew close to an elder and his family. This clan had experienced significant tragedy in 1997 when Michelle, a mother of four, had passed in a car accident.

Michelle’s youngest, Alexandra, grew up to be an athletic young lady who obtained a riding scholarship for the rodeo team at Fort Hays State University.

But that’s when tragedy struck again. Alex’s horse, while in full gallop, had a heart attack. The horse slammed Alex to the ground and she suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury.

She was medi-vac’d to a trauma center in Topeka, Kansas, where the doctors told the family: “Do not get your hopes up. Many people do not wake up from such an injury.”

And so the call to prayer went out in that small community of Pleasanton, Kansas. Churches came together and weekly prayer meetings were held.

People prayed and prayed and prayed. They prayed that Alex would open her eyes. And that eventually happened.

They prayed that she would respond to touch. And that eventually happened.

They prayed that she would sit up. And that eventually happened.

They prayed that she would stand. And that eventually happened.

Alex was then transferred to a special rehab facility in Nebraska. The prayers continued to a loving and powerful God.

The people prayed that Alex would walk. And over time, that happened.

They prayed that she would leave the facility and come home. That eventually happened.

Over a span of six months, God answered many prayers and today Alex is a college graduate, a wife and a mother.